


Again

by froggie_1824



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: 'well fuck here we go again', Angst, Asexual Harukawa Maki, Bisexual Saihara Shuichi, Depressed Saihara Shuichi, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Insecure Iruma Miu, Iruma Miu Being Iruma Miu, Iruma Miu is a pan disaster, Iruma Miu is lowkey a genius, Iruma Miu's Dirty Mouth, M/M, Multi, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Oma Kokichi Is a Little Shit, Rated T for swearing, Rating May Change, Saihara Shuichi is done with everyone's shit, Survivor Guilt, Time Loop, Tired Saihara Shuichi, ace maki supremacy, rated t for kokichi and miu being kokichi and miu, shuichi dies a lot, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28694052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggie_1824/pseuds/froggie_1824
Summary: “N-no… It can’t be…”He was back in the game he had just escaped from.---Shuichi thought it was over. But when he stared up at the sky, everything went dark again.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu, Chabashira Tenko/Yonaga Angie, Chabashira Tenko/Yonaga Angie/Yumeno Himiko, Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko, Harukawa Maki & Iruma Miu, Harukawa Maki & Oma Kokichi, Harukawa Maki & Saihara Shuichi, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Iruma Miu & Oma Kokichi, Iruma Miu & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Yonaga Angie/Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 21
Kudos: 125
Collections: Purrsonal Picks





	1. guess who's back, back again

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this story isn't great but I hope you enjoy anyway :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi wakes up in the locker again, after defeating the mastermind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kokichi no don't taint the poor detective
> 
> cw: swearing, sexual humor, kokichi, brief nonexplicit description of a panic attack

“Let’s… get out of here.” 

And with a blinding flash of light, everything was gone. 

\------ 

Shuichi gasped, starting forward…

...Only to headbutt a piece of… metal? 

“O-ow…” What? Where was he..? 

Shuichi pushed against the metal, and it gave way to reveal… an empty classroom. 

“N-no… It can’t be…” 

Shuichi’s eyes widened. What had just happened? Why was he back in the school? It had been destroyed… hadn’t it? Unless... 

Just then, the locker next to him opened. 

Kaede Akamatsu. Everything made sense again.

If Shuichi’s assumptions were correct, she had no idea who she was. It was… An uncomfortable thought, but he had to play dumb if he didn’t want to be percieved as insane. Still, he had to hold back tears from seeing his best friend again. Or was that all fabricated, like his entire being was said to be? He brought himself back to reality when Kaede began to speak.

“Huh..? Who are you?” She blinked. Shuichi fought the urge to wince. 

“Ah… My name is Shuichi Saihara. I’m the Ultimate Detective. A-at least… that’s my Ultimate talent…” Shuichi rubbed his arm self-consciously. He tried to recreate his persona from when he first met her.

“Oh! I’m Kaede Akamatsu. The Ultimate Pianist.” She smiled. 

“Oh… nice to meet you..! So… do you know anything about where we are…?” _Pretend you don’t know. Pretend you don’t know._

“Um. N-no. I don’t..?” Kaede seemed a bit flustered. Shuichi gasped. “Ah! I’m. Sorry for being so… direct.” 

Kaede smiled reassuringly. “No problem! It makes sense that an Ultimate Detective would be like that, anyway.” 

Shit. He wasn’t acting like his ‘hat’ persona at all. Shuichi bit his lip, saying nothing but smiling slightly. _Yes! Exactly like Hat Shuichi!_

Kaede took the lead. “Well… we should probably look around, then!” Shuichi nodded. “Y-yeah.” 

After looking around the classroom a bit, Shuichi would have thought that Kaede was the detective, not him. He couldn’t deny that she was very clever, from her taking the lead of their group to her plan to kill the mastermind. 

Right. The mastermind. 

Kaede grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the classroom, startling him. “A-ah!” Shuichi yelped. She grinned in response. Oh, lord. 

Kaede brought the two of them to all the students from before, learning their names, talents, and the like. 

Shuichi tried to keep speaking to a minimum. He wanted to act like Hat Shuichi. Hat Shuichi knew nothing. 

Hat Shuichi didn’t know about the sacrifices that everyone had made before. 

He didn’t know about the gruesome crime scenes, the empty, lifeless look in his classmates’ eyes. 

Hat Shuichi still had a bit of sanity in him.

As they approached the classroom labeled 1-A, Shuichi had a realization. That was the room in which they had met Kokichi. Shuichi internally sighed. He did not have the energy to deal with him at the moment. 

“H-hey, Kaede? I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back soon, so you can check out that classroom without me.” Kaede nodded. 

“Okay! I’ll wait in here until you come back!” _I’m so sorry, Kaede. You don’t deserve to deal with him._ Shuichi entered the boys' bathroom when he found it. 

Splashing water on his face, he let out a breath. Then gasped in horror. 

“Fuck. My eyeliner smudged.” Shuichi swore, dabbing at his eye. 

“Well well well. Didn’t think the ‘shy, innocent detective’ had it in him to swear.” A mocking, singsong-y voice echoed from the door. 

He recognized the voice, and gulped nervously. Standing there, leaning against the wall, was Kokichi, the epitome of ‘annoying.’ 

He was also a genius. If anyone could figure out that he’d seen this all before, it was Kokichi. 

Shuichi spun around slowly. “O-oh. Hi.” The tips of his ears were a light pink. 

Kokichi giggled. “Kaede said you had gone to the bathroom. So I came here too. I was curious, ya know~?” He put his hands behind his head, an innocent smile on his face. 

“That’s a bit c-creepy.” Shuichi stuttered out nervously. Then he narrowed his eyes. “So who are you..?” Fuck, that was a bit direct. Hat Shuichi. Hat Shuichi. 

“I’m the Ultimate Supreme Leader of an evil secret organization! Kokichi Ouma!” Kokichi’s grin turned feral. “My organization has over 10,000 members!”

Shuichi’s eyes widened. Good, it seemed he didn’t sense anything was off. “Ten.. thousand…?” 

“Well… maybe that was a lie. I am a liar, after all. Nee-hee!” 

Shuichi blinked. “Wha-” Sure, maybe he was acting a little, but he was always surprised by the liar’s strange antics. And it was even stranger seeing him alive.

“Anywaaaaays… I’m gonna go bother someone else now! Bye, Mister Detective!” He winked at Shuichi. 

He couldn’t say anything before Kokichi spun on his heels and promptly sprinted away. Huh.

After fixing his eyeliner, he found Kaede by the class door of 1-A, leaning on the wall. “You look… exasperated,” She giggled. “Did Kokichi find you?” 

Shuichi nodded, keeping the fake expression on his face. Kaede grabbed his hand. 

“He’s a bit weird. But not as weird as Kiibo. Did you know that there’s a student here that’s a ROBOT…?!” Shuichi feigned shock, and continued listening as Kaede described their classmates.

\- 

It was all the same. Shuichi was stupid to believe that there was no killing game this time. 

Because, of course, God had a personal grudge against him. 

He flipped off the sky.

-

“Monokuma.” Well, time to get this over with. Everyone was asleep already, so no one would hear. Except maybe the mastermind. 

“What is it, brat?” Monokuma turned around, his red eye glowing and a claw out. 

“What did you do?” Shuichi nearly growled. He was almost completely sure the time reset was because of Monokuma. 

“Eeeh? What are you talking about?” Monokuma blinked (can robots blink..?). 

“Don’t play dumb with me, bear. Why are we doing this again? Is this just another sick ploy for your ‘audience?’” Shuichi hissed. 

Monokuma stared at him. “Puhuhuhuhu… Well… this is interesting. You’re not supposed to act like this.” 

Shuichi’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? Was it not you..?” 

The bear giggled. “Nope. I have no idea how you know about the audience.” His claws glinted in the hallway light. “But… if you tell anyone what you know, it will result in an immediate punishment. And they won’t believe you if you tell them who the mastermind is now.” 

Shuichi gritted his teeth. Damn it, he was right. The navy-haired teen let out a breath and composed himself. “I’m going to end Danganronpa, Monokuma. Make sure the mastermind knows that.” 

Monokuma giggled, then teleported away. How… how did he do that..? 

Whatever. So Monokuma didn’t send him back. 

Then… who… or what… did? 

\--- 

Unbeknownst to the bear and the detective, a figure had heard the entire thing. 

The figure trembled. 

\--- 

Shuichi knew Kokichi would be mad, but he copied the liar’s idea of having a whiteboard. He spent the entire night exploring theories and connecting ideas. 

But after he did that… he turned his focus to the mastermind. Tsumugi Shirogane. 

Shuichi stared at her file on his Monopad for a while, thinking hard. How could he do this…? 

He could try to let events play out on their own, of course. That could work. Kaede would set the trap, and he could hide in the library as Tsumugi came out the door to hit Rantaro. He could apprehend her before she did anything. But that would reveal what he knew. 

Shuichi ran through a couple more ideas, and took a shaky breath. His first idea, while risky, seemed to be the safest option. Prevent the first murder from happening, and catch the mastermind. 

He would most likely die after he did it, but he wanted to die anyway. Besides… Tsumugi would die, too. That was a golden opportunity. 

The only other option he had… was to kill Tsumugi directly. He would become one of the blackened, and he would die too, but that didn’t matter. Better than the killing game continuing. 

Wait… why did all of his ideas involve him dying…? 

He could try to stop Kaede, and not bother with Tsumugi. But in that case, Monokuma would kill all of them. The time limit would ensure that. 

So… he was going to die. Shuichi gripped his pen in a tight hold, breathing heavily. If he messed this up, he would die for nothing. 

If Tsumugi somehow wasn’t the mastermind, he would die for nothing. 

Shuichi placed his pen on his desk. He hadn’t written anything down, of course - the Nanokumas saw everything. Maybe he was being paranoid, but it was necessary to avoid the risk. 

Shuichi spent the rest of the night trying and failing to go to sleep. 

\--- 

“Oh! Shuichi, you’re… not wearing your hat..?” Tsumugi stared at Shuichi with a shocked expression. _Oh, shit._

Well, whatever. To hell with Hat Shuichi, he didn’t care anymore. He regarded Tsumugi with a cold look, then sat down in the dining room. 

The table was full of interesting and unique food. Damn, he had missed Kirumi’s cooking. 

“Yeah, Shuichi! Honestly, I think you look better without it.” 

“Damn virgin doesn’t look like a perv anymore, at least.” 

“I don’t really see what the big deal is. He just took off his emo hat, does it really matter?” 

Shuichi looked up. “Oh. I must have forgotten it today.” 

Tsumugi stared at Shuichi a moment longer. She muttered something that looked suspiciously like _“that wasn’t in the script…”_ before going back to her food. 

After he drank a cup of black coffee and had a small bite of some American thing called a ‘mcmuffin,’ he decided to leave the dining hall to begin his plan. 

Kaede followed, of course, but so did Rantaro. This may be more difficult than I thought. “Oh. Hello, Kaede, Rantaro. I was just about to head to the library.” Rantaro and Kaede looked at him. 

“Shuichi, you seem different today.” _Oops._ “Oh. I.. didn’t get much sleep last night. Sorry.” 

Not a lie, really. He actually got _no_ sleep. 

“Ah, okay! Sorry you didn’t.” Kaede smiled kindly. Shuichi could _not_ mess this up. She was too kind for him to let her die again. 

After Kaede went back to the dining room, Rantaro looked at Shuichi suspiciously. “So why are you really going to the library…?” 

Shuichi smirked. “Believe it or not, Rantaro, I’m not the mastermind. I’m trying to find out who it is.” 

Rantaro looked shocked, then skeptical. “So that whole… meek, shy, detective thing was just… a facade?” 

The navy haired boy’s smile tightened. “Well, not exactly. But I can’t tell you much. You might be the mastermind yourself, for all I know. For how defensive you got about the library, I’m beginning to have suspicions.” 

The avocado backed away, blinking in surprise. 

Shuichi turned around and walked down the hallway, leaving him behind. He then walked down the stairs, just to bump into- 

Kokichi. 

“Hey there, Shu-i-chi.” Kokichi smirked, pausing on every syllable. 

“Ah. Hello, Kokichi.” Shuichi looked to the side nervously. This was reminding him of something he would rather forget. 

“Where ya goin?” The purple gremlin tilted his head, his eyes wide. 

“To the library. I wanted to find something to read. Mostly just trying to distract myself.” 

“Well that’s depressing.” 

“Y-yeah..” 

Kokichi regarded him for a moment, then grinned evilly. “Hey, you probably read really boring books. I’ll pick a better one for you, ‘kay?” 

Shuichi gulped. “Well… I can’t exactly say no, can I?” 

“Absolutely not. You catch on quick, Mister Detective!” 

Shuichi sighed. He wouldn’t be able to work on his plan… 

Kokichi grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the library. Well, shit, he might as well enjoy this. 

“I’ve read this one about 9 times since we got here. Or maybe that’s a lie!” Kokichi giggled, handing Shuichi a book. 

Shuichi raised a brow, but sat down with his back to the bookshelves and opened it, leafing through it. Seeing the contents, his face reddened. “What-” He looked up at Kokichi, his face as red as Himiko’s hair. “What is this?!” Shuichi yelped. 

Kokichi’s grin only widened. “What do you think?” Shuichi took a deep breath, setting the book down. 

“Why… was this in a school library.” Kokichi shrugged. “Dunno.” He sat next to Shuichi, with a different book. “You should read it, though. I said it was good.” 

“I don’t… really think I could handle that.” Shuichi bit his lip. 

Kokichi stuck out his tongue. “Coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” Shuichi groaned, “I just don’t want to read that kind of thing!” 

Kokichi laughed. “You’d better read it, or I’m siccing my 10,000 members on you.” 

Shuichi blinked. “Th-that was a lie… right?” Kokichi hummed, entranced by his own book. 

Shuichi sighed and opened the… embarrassing, for lack of a better word, book. Then immediately threw it at the opposite wall. 

Kokichi looked up, startled. “Huh. Didn’t think you had it in you.” Shuichi glared at him. 

“Fuck you. I’m not reading that.” Kokichi smirked. 

“Where and when? I’m not opposed to the idea.” 

Shuichi felt his face shift into one that looked as if he had sucked on a very sour lemon, then turned even redder. Kokichi smiled wider. 

“We could do it here, of course. I’m sure Monokuma would be annoyed at the mess, but he doesn’t matter.” Shuichi glared at him. 

“I get a lot of ‘service top’ vibes from you. But maybe you’re a bottom. Who knows? Not me. Yet.” 

Shuichi felt a piece of his soul break off and die. “Please stop.” 

“No, I don’t think I will.” 

“Shut up or I’ll make you.” 

Shuichi didn’t realize the implications of the sentence before Kokichi started turning bright pink, his face frozen. 

He rolled his eyes and walked over to the moving bookshelf. He would have to make a new plan. Kokichi was unexpected. 

But he was a genius. If anyone could figure it out, he could. 

“H-hey. What are you doing over there?” Kokichi was still a bit flustered, but he managed to ask the question. 

“This bookshelf. It moves.” Kokichi went quiet. 

“Why… are you telling me this?” 

“You’re not the mastermind. I know that for sure. So I trust you enough to…” Shuichi avoided saying ‘tell you I’m a time traveler.’ 

The grape walked in front of him. He stopped. “How do you know?” 

Shuichi bit his lip. “I can’t tell you that.” 

Kokichi whipped around so fast Shuichi thought his neck snapped. “Really..?” Kokichi narrowed his eyes. 

“Is it because… you’re the mastermind..?” 

Shuichi gulped. “I’m- I’m not-” Kokichi stepped forward. 

“If you’re not the mastermind, how do you know I’M not the mastermind?” He hissed, all playfulness in his voice gone. “It’s only been 3 days since this started.” 

Shuichi paled. “I really can’t t-tell you- I swear I’m not-” 

For every step Kokichi took forward, Shuichi took one back. He was getting a lot of deja vu from this... 

“I hope you know that I’m not actually stupid. So if you’re trying to play me for a fool…” Kokichi glared at Shuichi, his voice icily clear. 

Shuichi trembled under his angry glare. His back hit the wall. “I c-can’t tell you because I’d-” Shuichi breathed. 

Kokichi growled. “Louder.” 

Shuichi inhaled. “I’m- Monokuma said- I-” 

The purple teen hit the wall with his hand violently, staring up at the detective. 

“Tell me.” 

Shuichi shivered. 

“Are you being threatened because you found out?” Kokichi faltered for a moment, his eyes widening. 

“They- they can hear-” Shuichi slapped a hand to his mouth. 

He was gonna die. He started breathing faster and shorter, his vision cloudy. 

Soon he couldn’t even inhale at all. 

Kokichi backed up. “Hey. Shuichi. I’m sorry, okay? Here, breathe. Breathe, it’s okay.” 

After Shuichi could breathe again, he cast a look at Kokichi, who looked concerned, if not regretful.

“Ah. Thanks.” Shuichi straightened and took another breath. 

“I’m going to die anyway, so I might as well just tell you. If my theory is correct, that won’t matter.” 

Kokichi blinked. “What.” 

Shuichi looked at him. “I might get in trouble for this, but… The mastermind is Tsumugi. And she has tiny bugs, cameras, stationed all over the school.” 

Kokichi blinked again. “And how… do you know this?” 

“I’ve seen this all before. I’ve done it all before. You guys… well… a lot of us were killed. By… us, I guess.” 

Kokichi looked at Shuichi for a moment, then flicked his ahoge. 

Shuichi flinched. “aAah- H-hey!” That caused way too much of a reaction… 

Kokichi started laughing. “I didn’t know i-it was th-that s-sensitive!” He choked out between giggles. 

Shuichi blushed. “Th-that was-” 

Kokichi smirked. “So was that shock, pain, arousal, or some weird combination of the three?” 

Shuichi felt like passing out. He choked on the air he was breathing. 

But he was saved from Kokichi’s teasing by Monokuma approaching. “Oh. Well, it was fun while it lasted, Kokichi.” Shuichi smiled. 

Kokichi looked at him. “Huh?” 

Monokuma looked at the two, then announced his arrival. “Puhuhuhuhu! A budding romance between the detective and the supreme leader? What a surprise…” 

Kokichi sniffled, then promptly burst into tears. “WAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAAH! The bear interrupted us! Now we can’t keep our secret relationship a secret!” 

Shuichi glared at him. “Oh no,” he grumbled sarcastically. 

Monokuma cleared his throat. Kokichi hugged Shuichi, who turned pink at the contact. 

Monokuma seemed to stop working for a second, then giggled. “Puhuhuhhu! Nice try, but you can’t fool me. But Shuichi…” 

Shuichi froze. “I hope you remember what I said.” Monokuma brandished a claw. The detective felt his blood turn to ice. 

“Because it’s punishment time! PUHUHUHUHUHU!” 

Kokichi giggled. “Well, it’s been fun, Shuichi! See you in the afterlife.” 

Shuichi cast a betrayed look at him, then turned to Monokuma. 

“I accept my fate.”


	2. this time around, I won't fail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waking up again in the small locker, Shuichi hatches a new plan to get the mastermind caught. With the help of his new best friend, a cold-hearted assassin.
> 
> Hopefully this time, he won't get caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys so, so much. I really didn't expect people to see this! tysm for the kudos and comments!!!! they mean a lot :)
> 
> sorry it took a little bit for chapter 2 to be posted. 
> 
> maki time maki time maki time maki time maki time can you tell I love maki yet
> 
> she is love she is life and deserves everything
> 
> my personal hc is that maki is demiromantic asexual. I ship her with kaito, he'll show up soon ;) but for now, she gives zero fucks about anyone, platonically and romantically. 
> 
> okay maybe she gives one fuck about shuichi. but that's only because he would have followed her around like a sad puppy if she didn't. not cause she cares about him. nope. no way.
> 
> this chapter was beta read by my lovely cousin. thanks cuz!
> 
> midterms are hard to work around but I'm writing all I can!! hope y'all enjoy this chapter :)
> 
> cw: swearing, sexual humor, kokichi, self-blaming/guilt, discussion of death and violence, brief non explicit panic attack

Darkness. 

Then light.

The boy fell out of his confinement once more.

“God fucking damn it.” Shuichi groaned. “Back again.” 

The empty, abandoned classroom stared back at him.

As if on cue, the locker next to him began to shake.

Perhaps this time around, he shouldn’t tell Monokuma. If there was some higher power giving him another chance at this, he’d take it.

Kaede tumbled out of the locker, immediately looking up and around.

Fuck Hat Shuichi, he’s doing this.

“Hey, are you okay?”

He stuck out a hand to help Kaede up.

“Oh! Um. Y-yeah.” Kaede grinned sheepishly. She took his hand and Shuichi pulled her up.

Shuichi looked around the room, thinking for a bit.

He could try to find the secret passageway in the girls’ bathroom, but… well, he wanted to keep at least a bit of his reputation. 

He bit his lip, his hand on his chin. _Maybe… if I told Kaede…_

No. He liked Kaede, but she had her flaws with people. She was far too trusting. She would spill the secret to anyone who was nice enough to her, and soon it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.

Shuichi looked back at the aforementioned pianist. 

She was looking around the room as well, but gave him an odd look and he realized how rude he was being.

“A-ah. Sorry, K- um. W-what’s your name?” Shit. He had almost slipped up already. 

“Uh… I’m… Kaede Akamatsu. The… Ultimate Pianist.” Shuichi nodded. “And… what’s yours?” Kaede asked, looking at him with a smile.

“Shuichi Saihara, and I’m the Ultimate Detective,” Shuichi said, smiling slightly.

Kaede grinned. “Nice to meet you then, Shuichi!” 

The duo exited the room together, then went their separate ways. 

Shuichi shortly introduced himself to everyone, but kept it brief.

After thinking for a bit, Shuichi had an epiphany.

He immediately rushed down to the library. 

Of course. Why hadn’t it been obvious?

Clearly the best person to recruit was Maki. She was smart, she was badass, and she could keep a secret. 

Shuichi grinned. This could work. He might be able to get them out of here.

-

“...Excuse me?”

“Did I stutter? I know you’re the Ultimate Assassin. And I can explain how if you agree to help me.” Shuichi crossed his arms. 

Inside he was absolutely terrified, but he kept a mask of confidence on.

“I don’t care.” Maki glared at him.

Shuichi’s eye twitched. “Please?”

Maki raised an eyebrow, then studied Shuichi for a moment. 

“...Fine. But only because you probably won’t leave me alone otherwise.”

_Yes!_

“Thank you.” Shuichi sighed in relief. “Can you come with me?” The cameras would hear him if he just told her at their current location.

Maki’s glare only hardened. “...Why?” 

Shuichi bit his lip. “Can’t say it here.”

The assassin’s eyebrows raised higher this time. “Hm.”

“Just... humor me. For a moment.” Shuichi pleaded.

Maki sighed and rolled her eyes. “Sure.” 

-

“So. You’re… a time traveler, then?” Maki slid a hand down her face. “Either you’re telling the truth, or you’re insane.” She looked out from behind her fingers. “For now, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say it’s the first option.

Shuichi nearly beamed. “Ohmygodthankyousomuch.” He sighed. “I couldn’t tell you before because of the cameras.”

“So that’s why we’re in a closet together? To be honest, I thought it was some kinky shit at first. Turns out it was even weirder.” The corner of the brunette’s mouth twitched.

The detective sighed. “Hopefully, the mastermind assumes that we’re doing something like that. It’s a good excuse, really.” He rubbed his neck awkwardly. 

Maki groaned. “Fine. What do you want me to do?” 

Shuichi sighed. “There’s a secret passageway in the girls’ bathroom. We found it… before. It has a mechanism for creating more Monokumas-”

“More what?”

“Uhhh… Despair bears. Sentient robots with knives and very questionable morals.”

“Great.”

“So… yeah. Despair bear machine.” Shuichi felt his face heat up. “Sorry. Bad explanation.”

Maki hummed. “Continue.”

Shuichi bit his lip. “The machine makes a Monokuma if asked to by the mastermind.”

Maki snorted. “Alright. Sure, okay.” 

The detective winced. “Sorry, I know it sounds really weird.” He adjusted his hat. Oh, hey. He forgot about that thing.

The assassin slumped against the wall. “So what should I do about it?”

Shuichi folded his hands. “I think we should wait until after the killing game is announced. If we demonstrate our knowledge now, only bad things could happen.” 

“Huh. Good idea, actually.” Maki blinked.

Shuichi brought his hand to his chin. “Perhaps we should also ask Miu for help.” 

“Why?” Maki squinted.

“Uh. She's the Ultimate Inventor. She’s a bit… loud, though.”

Maki hummed in response. “Not good. But her skills may be useful.”

The detective sighed. “For now… let’s go to the gym. We need to get there eventually, as it’s where the killing game will be announced.”

Maki grunted. 

The detective and assassin left the closet.

As they entered the gym, they were joined by Tenko and Himiko. 

Tenko would be a good ally to have. _But how to recruit her…?_

It didn’t matter. He had to figure that out after Monokuma revealed himself.

-

And reveal himself he did.

There he was, in all his despair bear glory.

Shuichi kept his expression level. That was a mistake. He hoped no one had noticed as Maki kicked his leg. 

He immediately changed his expression to something more appropriate. He decided to go with a mix of shock and fear.

Maki’s face was blank, but her face was always blank. 

The duo attempted to fade into the background, becoming as inconspicuous as possible. They cast a glance at each other, and slipped out the door.

“So. Do you believe me now?” Shuichi smiled. 

The brunette glared. “Yes. Shut up.”

He did so.

-

“Kirumi, maybe? She’d join us no problem, but once she saw her motive video…”

“Yeah, definitely. I don’t know what a motive video is. But I think Tenko may be a good choice as well. Her brash nature would excuse any strange behavior.”

“Ah, good idea.” 

Their list of possible recruits was split into 2 categories. They would decide who to ask to join them with it. The first section consisted of those who could keep secrets. Ryoma, Rantaro, and Tenko were in it, among a few others. The second section had Himiko, Gonta, and (obviously) Tsumugi. 

As they separated everyone into their lists, only one name was missing.

“Aren’t there 16 of us?” Maki looked over to Shuichi.

Shuichi groaned. “Yes.”

“Who are we missing?”

Shuichi let out a long sigh. “Kokichi.”

“You don’t like Kokichi.”

“He’s just. A really big pain in the ass. But...”

“...But?”

“He’d be perfect for this. He’s a fantastic liar, actor, manipulator...” the detective trailed off.

Maki tilted her head. “Then he’s going on the Yes list,” she said. 

Shuichi sighed again. “Fine. But if he joins us, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

-

Eventually, Maki convinced him. “If he’s as good an actor as you say, he’s our best bet.”

Shuichi glared at her. “We’re going to regret this.”

“Regret what?” And there was the man in question.

Kokichi looked at the two innocently. “Were you guys going to invite me to a threesome?”

Shuichi glanced at Maki. His facial expression was one of exasperation. _I told you so._

Maki rolled her eyes. “No. We’re not interested in that at all.” A flicker of humor passed through her eyes. “At least, I’m not.”

Shuichi sighed deeply. Lord, give me strength. “We do want to ask you something, though.”

Kokichi’s face twisted into one of horror. “I swear, I didn’t take your porn collection!” 

Shuichi choked as his face reddened. “My wh-” He took a deep breath. “That’s not it. Could you come with us?”

The liar giggled. “‘Kay, but only because I ran out of people to torment today.”

Maki groaned. “I see what you meant.” Shuichi gave her a sympathetic glance. Kokichi narrowed his eyes at the two.

-

Kokichi burst into laughter. “Y-you mean to tell me- hAHA! That you- you want me- to join your time travel cult?” He wiped away his tears.

Shuichi sighed. “Just consider it. We’re just trying to stop the killing game. You’re the best liar here.”

The liar hummed. “Hmmm… Okay!! But first you have to beg me to join you.”

Shuichi’s eye twitched. “Is that some sort of kink for you?”

Kokichi giggled. “Maybe.”

Maki sighed. “Let’s just. Make the plan now.”

-

“And then, my subordinates could close in from all sides and kill everyone!” Kokichi cheered.

“Why did you say he would be a good pick again, Shuichi…?” Maki groaned, face down on the closet floor.

Shuichi grabbed Kokichi’s wrist. “Kokichi. Please be serious.”

The liar regarded Shuichi for a bit. “Let go of my fucking wrist and I’ll think about it,” he hissed, his eyes cold. 

Shuichi quickly did so. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to-” Kokichi put a finger on his lips, shushing him, then leaned back against the wall.

“One of us could kill the mastermind,” Shuichi spoke his thoughts aloud. “If that happened, I would volunteer. It’s my fault any of you died before, so I should-” Maki slapped his arm.

“With all due respect, Shuichi. Shut the fuck up,” Maki deadpanned.

The detective flinched. “Sorry.” 

Maki sighed deeply. “We’re going to come up with a plan that involves NO ONE DYING.” She glared at Shuichi. The detective slumped his shoulders. 

Maki’s gaze flickered between the two. “We need to gain enough trust for everyone to believe us about Tsumugi, and in the meantime set a trap for her. Sound good?”

Shuichi nodded. “If you can infiltrate her hideout from the girls’ bathroom, you could remove the weapons, making it impossible for her to kill Rantaro.”

The two stared at him. “What?” Maki stared at him. 

“He was the first victim. Kaede was framed,” Shuichi explained quickly. “Her trap to kill the mastermind ended up killing him instead. Well, we thought. It was actually Tsumugi who delivered the killing blow.”

Kokichi whistled. “Wooow, that’s some big brain shit right there.”

The assassin and detective ignored him. “I should have stopped it the first time. And so… we’re going to prevent that,” Shuichi finished.

Maki was silent, then spoke. “How did she set the trap in the first place?”

Shuichi looked at her. “After I showed her the.. moving… bookshelf...” He trailed off, reaching a conclusion. “If I never tell her about the bookshelf, she can’t set the trap!” His eyes widened. 

The assassin put a hand to her chin. “The butterfly effect.”

Shuichi stared at the ground, deep in thought. “We should remove Tsumugi’s weapons anyway.”

Kokichi sighed. “Bo-ring.” 

Maki glared. “Do you want to die?”

The detective stifled a laugh. Her trademark phrase. “Then, we should keep everyone away from Maki’s lab,” he continued.

“Lab?” Maki tilted her head.

“Ah. It’s a room based on your talent. Yours would have weapons and such.”

The assassin nodded. “A good idea. I can stay there for most of the day.”

Shuichi bit his lip. “During nighttime, though…” He paused. “Maybe you could take stock every morning, make sure nothing is missing.” 

Maki looked at him. “Okay. Fair enough.”

Kokichi rolled across the floor. “What about me?”

Shuichi sighed. “I’m not sure. It’s good to have you in on the secret, though. You’re pretty dangerous otherwise.” He cast a wary glance at the grinning liar. “Last time, you managed to convince everyone you were the true mastermind.”

Kokichi’s grin immediately disappeared. “Huh. Interesting.”

“Yeah…” The detective looked away. 

“Well, whatever. That was last time,” Maki interjected. “Let’s-”

“Who survived?” Kokichi interrupted.

Shuichi felt his face pale. “M-maki, Himiko, and me.”

Maki froze. “That’s it?”

Kokichi was silent.

“I- It’s my fault. I solved the murders, I sent them to their deaths, it’s all my fault they all-” Shuichi felt tears in his eyes and his breaths became short.

“Calm down. Breathe,” Maki shook his shoulders. “It wasn’t your fault. We heard the rules of the killing game. Everyone would have died if you hadn’t done anything.”

“Yeaaah, there would have been NO survivors if it weren’t for you. Everyone else here is pretty dumb,” Kokichi giggled. He seemed to have recovered from the initial shock.

Shuichi eventually brought his breathing back to normal. “Thank you. That’s not… a common occurrence. Sorry.”

Maki helped him up. “It’s fine. Let’s get going on the plan now. We’ll discuss Kokichi’s role later.” She glanced at the liar, who grinned back at her. “We have enough to deal with at the moment.”

Kokichi puffed out his cheeks. “Aww, okaaaaaay.” He pouted.

Shuichi nodded at Maki. “Thank you.”

The three walked out of the closet, unaware of a smirking figure around the corner of the hall.


End file.
